


Sand (1:06 AM)

by tensthusiast



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23156248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tensthusiast/pseuds/tensthusiast
Summary: Mark didn’t like the way Hyuck stood next to him as they walked. It made the boy want to intertwine their fingers and rest his head on his shoulder. Bullshit.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Sand (1:06 AM)

Of course, it was the younger boy that decided a walk along the shoreline this late at night would be perfect when Mark had said he couldn’t sleep. How was he supposed to know the silver-haired boy would quickly hang up and be in front of his door five minutes later with a sleepy smile, clad in an obvious, giant pajama shirt and old, dirty jeans? He looked adorable in the moonlight like that. Mark couldn’t say no. So he threw on a jean jacket- one he knew Hyuck would end up wearing when the cold of the night waves would wash over him.

Now he was stuck fighting the temptation to reach his hand across the three inches that separate them as he listens to Hyuck ramble on about what had happened with his family that day. Mark liked that about him. He liked that Hyuck always had something to say, so he never had to trip over his weakly stuttered “um”s and “like”s. He didn’t like their proximity, though. He felt like they were too far. Maybe too close. He wasn’t sure anymore, but he knew he wanted Hyuck’s hand in his. 

All of the sudden Hyuck was looking at him, eyes expectant and a sly smile breaking the line of his lips. His lips. They looked too full with the buzzing light of street lamps that could barely reach them. 

“I’m guessing you stopped listening a while ago,” he sighs, but he’s not disappointed. He’s more amused than anything. Mark is taken aback but manages to pull an embarrassed smile across his features.

“I’m sorry…” the older mumbles, “Can you repeat that?”

The smile Hyuck gives him is breathtaking. It’s mind-bending how bright he looks even only under the moonlight. Mark is sure he’s never seen anything prettier, and he kind of hates how the sleepiness is tugging his inhibition away from him and the idea of kissing his best friend seems more inviting by the moment.

“I said,” Hyuck presses, playfulness dancing on his tongue, “we should probably find a place to sit.” He nods to a few picnic tables that litter higher up on the shore. Mark eyes them wearily, letting himself lazily survey from the tables to Hyuck to the water. The waves seem to grow and fall with the soft cycle of his breath.

“Can we just, like,” Mark winces at his nervousness in speaking, voice barely breaking before he regains himself, “sit on the sand..?”

He’s obviously anxious, and Hyuck can tell better than anyone when Mark is scared of himself. So, the younger boy plops down quickly, right where they were standing, gazing up at Mark softly and waiting for him to follow suit.

Mark takes a moment, just looking down at Hyuck before he slowly sinks to his knees beside him.

“Was there a specific reason you couldn’t sleep?” Hyuck utters quickly, eyeing his best friend with a worried curiosity. His expression had changed. It was kinder now, providing security to Mark that almost made him feel more nervous to admit what had been ripping his mind in half for hours. 

The words tumble around his head before they fall haphazardly from his mouth, almost accidentally as sleep deprivation began to get the better of his intuition. 

“I like you, Hyuck.”

It’s obviously not what the younger was expecting to hear, and he’s left speechless for just for a second- a rare feat, for the silver-headed boy. His mouth opens and closes a few times, and Mark thinks for a moment that he looks like a fish gasping for air when he does that. It makes him smile.

“Mark, I…” Hyuck tries to start as older boy digs his hand underneath the blanket of the sand, getting grains stuck beneath his nails.

“You don’t have to say anything about it,” Mark assures, and Hyuck had never heard his voice that solid before.

“No, it’s just--” Hyuck has to take a moment to regain himself, pulling his hands into his lap to avoid reaching out to grip Mark’s shirt, “Why?”

His voice is soft now, and part of the question breaks Mark’s heart. He has to stare at Hyuck in astonishment for a moment, wondering how the glowing boy could even ask such a question, but the sun will always be accustomed to its brightness. Mark leans in, slow, hesitant until he’s only a few inches from him before he whispers, eyes low.

“I know we…” he shakes his head, backing away a bit, “You’re my best friend, and I shouldn’t, but Hyuck… I just.. You uhm…” he fades out, the words running too quickly in his head to catch. He becomes panicked, moving further away, looking down, until a hand catches in his shirt and he suddenly can’t move and his eyes can’t open and there’s a soft breeze over his face.

It takes a second for Mark to realize the breeze is Hyuck’s breath and he opens his eyes and the boy is impossibly close. That’s when he feels the plushness against his lips and he realizes Hyuck is kissing him. He’s kissing Hyuck. His eyes hesitantly shut and he can’t get himself to do a thing. It feels right, and he can tell his heart is beating hard enough for Hyuck to feel through the fabric of his t-shirt.

Finally, his hands are pulled from the sand and he steadies them onto the collar of his own jacket. It makes the moment feel even more fake and he forgets how to breathe when Hyuck barely pulls his lips off of Mark’s. Mark feels like everything he does is lagged when it takes him a few passing moments to open his eyes and be greeted with Hyuck’s serious expression. His eyes swim with thoughts in a way Mark’s never seen before, and it’s beautiful. He doesn’t want to break the silence, but his chest heaves lightly beneath Hyuck’s hands. 

“Why…” Hyuck utters again, barely a breath that fans across Mark’s cheeks, making his eyes flutter.

“You’re just perfect…” he manages, eyes falling into their laps, and his voice almost daring to break again out of the anxiety that floods his system. “And the way you smile just... It makes me happy, and you always talk when I can’t and you’re always there when I can’t think right and you’re always so strong and-” once the words start spilling from his chest he can’t stop, and he falls into a list that he’d already accumulated in his head. “And you’re so pretty I can’t even explain it and your voice is just comforting and I don’t feel forced when I’m with you and I-”

He’s cut off by a sob and looks up to realize Hyuck is crying. The panic floods his system again and his hands go to work wiping his tears and fixing his jacket on the younger’s shoulders as he utters anxious “please don’t cry”s into the space between them, followed by a barrage of “I’m sorry”s with wide eyes.

Hyuck looks up, locking eyes with Mark and trying to sniffle back his tears. He’s not sure what compelled the tears out of him, but he found himself nuzzled into Mark’s shoulder in no time, the older nervously whispering tiny affirmations as he rubs circles into his back in time to the waves. He sure isn’t complaining.

“I like you too,” he sniffles, and if he weren’t in such close proximity to Mark, he surely wouldn’t be heard. Mark hears, though, and only pulls Hyuck closer against him. He lets out a shaky breath he forgot he was holding and leans his head onto Hyuck’s shoulder.


End file.
